Livres en mouvement - mettre en place une bibliothèque mobile

“Books help to build and maintain the educational, cultural, scientific, and economic fabric of our societies, and they perform many roles. On one hand, these creations of the mind are also goods and therefore the lynchpin in a vast chain of revenue-generating activities and professions. On the other hand, as teaching and training tools, books are key to the acquisition of the skills required by society, whether of an intellectual or a technical nature,” reads the preface to this work.

“It is by taking into account these spiritual and economic roles that UNESCO has endeavored, since its creation, to promote and strengthen the presence of books in all the world’s nations, particularly in the places where need is the greatest.

Its approaches are varied. Its actions have been normative, from the Florence Agreement on the Importation of Educational, Scientific and Cultural Materials (1950) and the Nairobi Protocol of (1976) up to recent conventions such as the one in 2005 on the protection and promotion of the diversity of cultural expressions.”

The objective of the book is to offer concrete assistance to the various stakeholders to establish a mobile library. It notes the importance of conducting an in-depth analysis of the situation. This work also includes firsthand accounts of successful and unsuccessful experiences, since both provide valuable information. Lastly, all the steps for establishing a mobile library are described, from the search for funding and institutional support to the selection of works and the choice of itinerary. The manual is available for download on the UNESCO website (in French only).